Fox, The FBI, and Hugh Jackman Vow to “Get the Bastards”

Except they didn’t use the word “bastards”. (My guess is, “those rascals”?) In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fox prez Tom Rothman makes his case for why those who have downloaded the leaked workprint copy of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” should still see it in theaters — it’s missing over 10 minutes of additional footage, and the special effects are unfinished. EW also theorizes on who might be the culprit.

“The version that went out is unfinished. It’s about 10 minutes shorter, doesn’t have key scenes, it wasn’t edited, and none of the effects shots were in any remotely final form,” Rothman tells EW. “It’s a complete misrepresentation of the film and is deeply unfair to the people who have worked on it for years.”

The number that was going around was more like 15 minutes of additional footage. Looks like ol Tom is lowballing it. I would have exaggerated the number to 20 minutes myself, just to convince the fanboys.

Rothman on Hugh Jackman’s reaction to the leak:

“Hugh was heartbroken and hurt when he found out. He’s lived with this thing for 10 years. But he’s also a man and knows that life isn’t fair, and is more determined than ever,” Rothman says. “Hugh and I exchanged e-mails: Basically, we’re not going to let the bastards win. But we didn’t use the word ‘bastards.’ That’s a slightly sanitized version.”

Maybe Hugh can go to the culprit’s house and subject himself to a series of musical numbers (above, right). Then again, I’m not sure the Geneva Convention would allow such brutal torture.

Anyways, the suspect at the moment seems to be Australian special effects house Rising Sun Pictures, whose logo apparently shows up on the leaked print. The company isn’t going to take that suspicion lying down, though, and are already launching a full-scale “We didn’t do it, and here’s why!” counter-attack on the media, including replying to EW’s article.

So who was responsible? I bet it’s just some pimply faced intern trying to score with the online fanboy community. Whoever it was, can you say, “Made an example of”? They’re not going to just throw the book at him, they’re going to drive a tank through his house and throw his grandma out the window. Oh, there will be blood on this one, kids.